By Okeoghene Akubuike
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.69 per cent in April 2026.
The NBS disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report for April 2026, released in Abuja on Friday.
The report stated that the April headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.31 per cent compared to the March 2026 headline inflation rate of 15.38 per cent.
“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate for April 2026 stood at 15.69 per cent, when compared to the 26.82 per cent recorded in April 2025.”
Furthermore, the report said on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in April 2026 was 2.13 per cent, which was 2.05 per cent lower than the rate recorded in March 2026 at 4.18 per cent.
“This means that in April 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in March 2026.”
It said that the three major contributors to the headline inflation year- on- year were food and non-alcoholic beverages at 6.40 per cent, restaurants and accommodation services at 3.56 per cent, and transport at 1.70 per cent.
The report said that the least contributors were recreation, sports, and culture at 0.01 per cent, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and narcotics at 0.01 per cent, and insurance and financial services at 0.03 per cent.
It said that the CPI increased to 138.3 in April 2026, and reflected a 2.9 -point increase from the 135.4 recorded in March.
The report said the food inflation rate in April 2026 was 16.06 per cent on a year-on-year basis, compared to the rate recorded in April 2025 at 24.68 per cent.
It said that on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in April 2026 was 3.63 per cent, which decreased by 0.54 per cent compared to the 4.17 per cent recorded in March.
The NBS attributed the rate of change in the average prices of millet whole grain, yam flour, ginger(fresh), beef, garri, and yam tuber.
“Others are fresh pepper, crayfish, cassava tuber, beans, Irish potatoes, fresh tomatoes, wheat grain(sold loose), soy beans, guinea corn, plantain, and carrots, among others.”
The report said “All items less farm produces and energy” or core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 15.86 per cent in April, on a year-on-year basis.
This shows a decline of 10.19 percentage points when compared to the 26.05 per cent recorded in April 2025.
“On a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate was 1.03 per cent in April which decreased by 3.0 per cent compared to the 4.03 per cent recorded in March.”
The report said that the inflation rate of the sub-indices for April 2026 on a month-on-month basis showed that energy stood at 8.0 per cent, farm produce at 6.0 per cent, services at 2.1 per cent, goods at 3.2 per cent and imported food at 4.4 per cent.
It said that on a year-on-year basis in March 2026, the urban inflation rate was 15.40 per cent.
“On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 1.86 per cent, which decreased by 1.3 per cent compared to March 2026 at 3.16 per cent.”
The report said that in April 2026, the rural inflation rate was 16.36 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
“On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate was 2.80 per cent, which decreased by 3.93 per cent compared to March at 6.73 per cent.”
On states’ profile analysis, the report showed that in April, the all-items index inflation rate on a year-on-year basis was highest in Sokoto at 25.74 per cent, followed by Bauchi at 22.52 and Zamfara at 22.03 per cent.
It said that the lowest rise in headline inflation on a year-on-year basis was recorded in Edo at 5.91 per cent, followed by Borno at 6.72 per cent and Jigawa at 7.04 per cent.
However, the report said that in April 2026, the inflation rate on a month-on-month basis was highest in Niger at 15.66 per cent, followed by Kano at 4.50 per cent and Pleasure at 4.39 per cent.
“Bayelsa at 0.64 per cent, followed by Enugu at 0.98 per cent and Rivers at 1.02 per cent recorded a decline in month-on-month inflation.”
The report said that on a year-on-year basis, food inflation was highest in Enugu at 32.67 per cent, followed by Kwara at 30.77 per cent, and Adamawa at 30.14 per cent.
“Borno at 1.67 per cent, followed by Jigawa at 6.17 per cent and Taraba at 7.19 per cent recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis.’’
However, it said that on a month-on-month basis, food inflation was highest in Niger at 8.53 per cent, followed by Bauchi at 6.78 per cent, and Kogi at 6.72 per cent.
“Kebbi at 0.23 per cent, followed by Katsina at 0.47 per cent and Bayelsa at 1.29 per cent, recorded a decline in food inflation on a month-on-month basis.”(NAN)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru
